Pats are going young, but will that mean a step back?

Considering how much drama has gone on since the last time the New England Patriots took the field in a game that meant anything, it's good that actual football is right around the corner.

Considering how much drama has gone on since the last time the New England Patriots took the field in a game that meant anything, it's good that actual football is right around the corner.

From Wes Welker leaving town to Aaron Hernandez's arrest, it seems as though there's been as much Patriots news coming from TMZ as from ESPN. For most NFL teams, bringing in Tim Tebow and having him underwhelm to the point that he gets cut would be front-page news; for the Patriots, it was just a sideshow to the media circus surrounding Foxboro these past few months.

The Hernandez saga will continue to hang over Gillette Stadium this season like a dark cloud, but just as they have with most of the other controversies that have surrounded the team, the Patriots will play through it. But the star tight end's absence is just one of the many football issues the Pats will face this season.

"Each year is a new year with a new team, new circumstances, new challenges, new everything," Belichick said. "That's the great part about football — you don't pick up where you left off, good or bad. You start all over again."

Offensively, the Pats are full of question marks. If Hernandez hadn't been arrested and Welker hadn't felt like he was mistreated, and the New England offense was status quo, they'd probably be the odds-on favorite for at least a return to the AFC title game.

But instead, they are in disarray and have a lot to prove. Can Danny Amendola give them what Welker did, and perhaps more? And what can they get out of rookie receivers Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson or Josh Boyce? How about rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld, who will likely be the top TE until Rob Gronkowski is healthy? In fact, with 14 rookies on the team — including seven undrafted free agents — the Patriots have more first-year players than any other team in the NFL. Was that by design? Is the emphasis on reloading the roster?

"No, we want to win," Belichick said. "That's what we're here for. We kept the players that we feel give us the best chance to be competitive this year. That's what our job is."

The Patriots even have a rookie at punter, as Ryan Allen beat out veteran Zoltan Mesko for the job (presumably because of his cheaper salary).

The Patriots are bringing back almost the entire defense—and that's either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

The Pats were 25th in overall defense last season, 29th against the pass (allowing 271.4 yards per game) yet ninth against the run (101.9 yards per game) and ninth in points allowed (331). While a lot of those yards came with the Patriots up late in games, it's safe to say New England would like to see those numbers trend toward becoming one of the league's elite defenses rather than a bend-but-don't-break one.

But yet with a core of returning players like linebackers Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes and Dont'a Hightower, defensive ends Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones, nose tackle Vince Wilfork and defensive back Devin McCourty, the Patriots are hoping another year of experience can help the defense make that leap.

They've also brought back cornerback Aqib Talib, who helped solidify a shaky secondary upon his arrival last season, and they've cut some of the fat from the defensive side of the roster.

With each passing season, the end of Tom Brady's career looms ever closer"ťand it seems like each year, instead of making things easier for him, he's asked to do more and more as both a quarterback and as a leader. He'll have to be at the top of his game in both respects this season; he did it last year, leading the Pats to a 12-4 record and a trip to the AFC Championship Game. Can he be expected to do it again with so many new faces — especially those lining up to catch the ball from him?

With so much turnover on offense and a defense that still has yet to take the next step, can the Patriots compete for a Super Bowl this season? Or is this the year that someone else in the AFC East (okay, only the Dolphins have a legitimate shot) finally ascends to the top of the division?

The bottom line is 16 regular-season games from now, the rookies will no longer be rookies. The kinks will all be worked out, for the most part. We'll know what these Patriots are made of on both sides of the ball, and how they can compare in what should be a wide-open AFC. And would anyone really be shocked if it all added up to another deep playoff run for New England.

Come on ... you know better than that by now.

Tim Weisberg covers the New England Patriots for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com.